Kid 23
by Supermorff
Summary: Wolverine searches for his clone, the bioengineered X23. Meanwhile, X23 herself is still on the run, unwilling to be used as a weapon again. This is a short, kinda sweet story.


Wolverine searches for his clone, the bio-engineered X23. Meanwhile, X23 herself is still on the run, unwilling to be used as a weapon again. This is a short, kinda sweet story from the 'X-Men: Evolution' universe.

**Spoiler Warning:** Various episodes during all seasons of 'X-Men: Evolution', particularly 'Target X' during season 4. Less so for the episode 'X23' which introduced the character in the first place, as I hadn't actually seen it while writing most of this story.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the characters or the places or, well, anything X-Men. Probably Marvel's, despite the insistence of some that they are the exclusive property of Stan Lee.

* * *

Logan smelled the air. It was rank and smelled of faeces, which was to be expected considering he was in a sewer. It was nearly overwhelming, especially due to his heightened sense of smell. Thankfully, he'd long since learned to tune out the undesirable smells, allowing him to zero in on the scent he was trying to follow. Truth be told, he wasn't entirely certain what the scent he was trying to follow actually smelt like. Fortunately, that wasn't a huge problem.

"Are you looking for me?"

Logan turned. Standing to his side, emerging from a passage he'd barely been aware of, was a tall and lanky, grey-skinned mutant with no hair and yellow eyes. Now that Logan knew where he was, he adjusted his senses. He _could_ smell this new mutant, although his scent was very similar to the natural smell of the sewers

"That depends," growled Logan. "You Caliban?" He hadn't meant to growl. Quite often he found himself doing it automatically when he met new people. Plus, this Caliban had that weird creepy vibe.

"I am." Logan wasn't sure, but Caliban's voice seemed to have a similar gravely tone to his own. Had he just growled back?

"I hear you can find people - mutants." Logan was looking for someone, and it wasn't Caliban. Caliban was really just a means to an end. He could have gone to Professor Xavier. Xavier would have been willing, and he would have understood Logan's desire. Of course, that was the problem. Charles was great, but Logan wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of him understanding the matter when Logan wasn't sure he understood it fully himself.

"I can - if required."

"She's young. Mutant abilitiesthe same as mine."

"I will find her for you, but it will take time."

"I'll be back."

-----------------------------

Some time later, the girl in question was walking through the country. For months all she'd thought about was taking down Hydra, one base after another. Now that she'd succeeded in destroying the entire terrorist organisation, she'd lost all purpose. She had nothing to drive her any more. All her life she'd relied on others to give her purpose - she'd been a weapon for Hydra, then sought to free herself from Hydra. However she'd never considered what would happen if she managed to do it.

A twig snapped a little way to her left, and her senses flared up. It was a habit. There was no reason to suspect that the remnants of Hydra - or even SHIELD - would be following her. Nobody even knew she was alive. Still, it paid to be cautious, as she'd discovered long ago.

"I tell you, there's no-one here."

"Just wait a while. If they don't turn up in… oh, five minutes. Then we go."

"How the hell could they know there was someone here, anyway?"

"I don't know. They're probably mutants." The girl sniffed. She didn't know either of them, and they sounded far too ignorant to be Hydra or SHIELD.

"It's a practical joke, I bet you. I mean that's not even a name. I say we wait two minutes then open it ourselves."

"Calm down. A job's a job, no matter how bizarre the instructions." Suddenly she was curious. A part of her knew that revealing herself was taking a big risk. Another part pointed out that there were only two people there - her senses would have alerted her to more - and that she could easily beat them if necessary.

With all the stealth of a cat, she crept up behind them. Then she cleared her throat. They both jumped a foot into the air.

"Don't sneak up on a guy like that!" She grinned cruelly. The other managed to regain his composure slightly faster.

"That was… hi. Um… are you expecting a letter?" Suddenly the girl was confused. She hid it quickly, and replaced it with suspicion.

"No. Should I be?"

"Oh, hang on." He fumbled for a moment in the pocket of his large coat, then withdrew an envelope. "Do you go by… Kid 23?" Not exactly, but it certainly seemed familiar.

"I suppose so." The other one had finally stopped staring.

"Good enough. Give it to her and let's go home."

"Don't suppose we could have a signature?" She just glared at them. It didn't take long for them to get the hint.

"You know what? Forget it. We don't really need one." They backed off and left her with the letter. She waited until she was sure she was alone before doing anything.

A single metal claw slid out of her right hand just above the knuckle and she sliced open the envelope. Retracting the claw, she tipped the contents into her palm. There was a wad of twenty dollar notes - not much, but it would last her a while. There was also a letter. Perhaps it would answer something.

As soon as she read the first line, she knew who had sent it.

_Kid,_

_I know you got away from the explosion at Hydra central command. For the moment,  
though, SHIELD thinks you didn't make it. You're free now, kid. How does it feel?_

_I've included some money, which should last you a while. I'm sorry I couldn't come to see  
you myself. Fury's probably watching me, so it's safer for both of us if we keep our  
distance._

_You can be your own woman now, kid. You can have your own name. Have a nice life.  
You've earned it._

_Logan_

Her own name? X23 was a code, nothing more. It was a symbol of everything she'd left behind. No name that she'd ever used fit her - did she even have one?

-----------------------------

She dropped lightly onto the carpet then closed the window silently behind her. The last time she'd been here she had been far less stealthy. Funnily enough, stealthy was easier. She tiptoed over to the bed. He was lying there, his deep breathing the only sound in the room. She inched closer.

In all honesty she wasn't sure why she was here. He had effectively severed all ties with her in the last letter. SHIELD would be watching him. And yet, his blood was hers. He was… family.

"If you were anyone else, you know you wouldn't have got this close, right?" She froze, and stared as a sly smile appeared on his lips. His eyes remained steadfastly closed.

"When did you know?"

"When you were halfway across the grass. I'm impressed though." She glared at him for patronising her, then realised that he wouldn't be able to see her with his eyes closed. Instead she just said,

"Thanks." Oddly, there was more sincerity behind the words than she'd intended.

"So why are you here? It's dangerous for you here, at least for a while."

"I…" She thought. Why _had_ she come here? "I want you to give me a name." Suddenly he sat up and looked at her.

"Me? Why?"

"Isn't… isn't that the job… of a parent?"

-----------------------------

The girl smiled openly as she dashed away from Xavier Mansion. She finally felt a form of peace that she had thought was beyond her totally. She had a name, she had a _family_. And she had a way to get in touch if she ever needed to. Or if she needed to talk.

She pressed the dial button on the cellphone and lifted it to her ear.

"For the love of God, let me _sleep_."

"Sorry," she said innocently. "I forgot how old you were."

"Just keep it in mind for next time. So what do you want now?"

"I don't know. Say thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome, kid. Keep in touch, yeah?"

"Sure."

"But not this late." She smiled.

"Sure."

"See you round, Laura. Take care." And the line disconnected. She pocketed the phone, and looked around at the colossal house behind her. It wasn't home to her. But maybe… just maybe… it would be one day.

* * *

I originally had Logan give X23 the name Kerri instead of Laura, but I changed that when she made the transition over to mainstream comic continuity (in which she's called Laura). Although X23 (Laura) only appeared in two episodes of 'Evolution', she did appear as part of the future team in Xavier's "prophecy" at the end of the finale episode, 'Ascension'. This was a way of bringing her closer to fulfilling that future role.


End file.
